Geography & Dioceses
Geografia · 508 articles · Principal contributors · All subjects-
Abruzzo (ABRUZZO (ABRUZZI))
ABRUZZO. - 1. GEOGRAPHY. - Region of central Italy, bounded by the Marche, Umbria, Lazio and Molise, which faces the Adriatic between the… -
Abū Hennis (better Deyr Abū Hennis) (ABŪ HENNIS (MEGLIO DEYR ABŪ HENNIS))
ABŪ HENNIS (better Deyr Abū Hennis). - A Coptic village located southwest of Sheikh 'Ibada (Antinoupolis), which preserves the remains of… -
Acci
ACCI. - Today Guadix, in the province of Granada (Spain), a very ancient city, formerly a Roman colony. From the earliest years of the 4th… -
Acqui (Acqui) (ACCIA (ACCI))
ACQUI (ACQUI). - Ancient bishopric on the island of Corsica, located in the canton of La Porta, arrondissement of Bastia. This ancient… -
Adana
ADANA. - City of Cilicia, situated on the river Saihun, an ancient Greek episcopal see, dependent on the see of Taurus. When the Armenian… -
Aden
ADEN. - Since 1937 a British Crown colony. It consists of the peninsula proper (194 sq km with 50,000 inhabitants) and of the protectorate… -
Adiabene (Hadyab, native name; Greek Ἀδιαβήνη) (ADIABÈNE (HADYAB, NOME INDIGENO; GR. ἈΔΙΖΒΉΝΗ))
ADIABENE (Hadyab, native name; Greek Ἀδιαβήνη). - A region situated on the left bank of the Tigris with Arbela as its ecclesiastical… -
Afghanistan (AFGANISTAN)
AFGHANISTAN. - 1. GEOGRAPHY. - More than twice the size of Italy (650,000-700,000 sq. km.), A. occupies the NE. part of the Iranian… -
Africa
AFRICA. - One of the five largest continents. SUMMARY: I. Geography: 1. A. in general. - 2. French Equatorial A. - 3. French West A. - 4.… -
Agaunum (Agaunum or Acaunum) (AGAUNO (AGAUNUM O ACAUNUM))
AGAUNUM (Agaunum or Acaunum). - Present-day Saint-Maurice in Valais, a town of the Tarnade (Tarnaiae or Tarnades of the Roman itineraries),… -
Ain Zara
AIN ZARA. - A locality in Libya, about 13 km south of Tripoli, where a very notable early Christian necropolis has been found, generally… -
Akhmim (Aḥmīm)
AKHMIM (Aḥmīm). - A city in Middle Egypt, with a large percentage of Coptic population, rising on the site of ancient Panopolis, sacred to… -
Akra of the Chaldeans (AKRA DEI CALDEI)
AKRA OF THE CHALDEANS. - An archbishopric of the Syro-Chaldean rite in Kurdistan whose origin is unknown and which has its seat in A., the… -
Aksum
AKSUM. - City of northern Ethiopia, at 2,130 m above sea level, with about 10,000 inhabitants. A very ancient population center (certainly… -
Alaska (ALASCA)
ALASKA. - Territory of northwestern America, belonging to the United States, which bought it from Russia in 1867. 1. GEOGRAPHY. - It has… -
Albania (Alb. Shqipëria or Shqipnia) (ALBANIA (ALB. SHQIPËRIA O SHQIPNIA))
ALBANIA (Alb. Shqipëria or Shqipnia). - 2. Christianity in Albania. - 3. Cultural history. - 4. The Greek-Albanian rite. > ALBANI,… -
Albi
ALBI - Cathedral. Door built by Bishop Domenico da Firenze (early 15th century). of the king's library, then professor of philosophy at the… -
Albi, Archdiocese of (ALBI, ARCIDIORESI DI)
ALBI, Archdiocese of. - Metropolis of southwestern France with its seat at A., a city of 30,000 inhabitants, situated on the left bank of… -
Alcalá de Henares
ALCALÁ DE HENARES. - City of central Spain (the Complutum of the Romans) in the province of Madrid, formerly the seat of a diocese (v.… -
Alès (Alais, according to pre-1926 spelling) (ALÈS (ALAIS, SECONDO LA GRAFIA ANTERIORE AL 1926))
ALÈS (Alais, according to pre-1926 spelling). - City in southern France (department of Gard), of ancient Celtic origin (Alestum, Alesiensis… -
Aleutian (ALEUTINE)
ALEUTIAN. - Archipelago of about 150 islands (of which 12 are major) and rocks, all mountainous and volcanic (with dormant and active… -
Algeria
ALGERIA. - A. comprises the central section of the Atlas and a broad stretch of the northern Sahara (conquered by France between 1830 and… -
Algiers (ALGERI)
BIBL.: A. Bernard - E. Ficheur, Les régions naturelles de l'Algérie, in Annales de Géographie, Parigi 1902, pp. 221, 330, 419 seg.; A.… -
Alsace (ALSAZIA)
ALSACE. - A natural and historical region on the middle Rhine along the Franco-German ethnic border. It consists of a plain (almost… -
Althamar
ALTHAMAR. - Island on Lake Van, it was the seat of the antikatholikos of the Armenian Church. The first in this seat was the antikatholikos… -
Altino
ALTINO. - It is a municipium of the Scaptian tribe on the Venetian coast, on the Via Annia at its crossing with the Claudia Augusta. Its… -
Amalfi, Archdiocese of (AMALFI, ABCIDIOCESI DI)
AMALFI, Archdiocese of. - In the Campanian region, in the province of Salerno, it borders on the dioceses of Sorrento and of Nocera dei… -
Amastris (Today Amasrah) (AMASTRIS (OGGI AMASRAH))
AMASTRIS (Today Amasrah). - City of Paphlagonia, on the Black Sea. Around 300 B.C. Sesamos and other nearby centers were united into a… -
Amida
AMIDA. - Present-day Diyarbakır, situated on the left bank of the Tigris, not far from Edessa. It was the capital of the Roman province of… -
Andorra
ANDORRA. - The largest of the smallest European states (452 sq. km.), on the southern slope of the Pyrenees between France (department of… -
Angola
ANGOLA. - 1. GEOGRAPHY. - It is the largest (with Cabinda and Landana to the N. of the mouth of the Congo, 1.2 million sq. km.), but not… -
Antilles (ANTILLAS)
ANTILLES. - Seat of the Armenian patriarchate of Sis of the non-united Armenians. Transferred to Lebanon in 1930, this patriarchate has… -
Antilles (ANTILLE)
ANTILLES. - This name designates the long island complex that, stretching between the two Americas from Florida to Venezuela, closes off… -
Apt
APT. - City in the department of Vaucluse, on the river Coulon (France). It was founded by the Celtic tribe of the Vulgientes, occupied by… -
Apulia (PUGLIA)
APULIA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - A historical region formed by the Adriatic slope of the Apennines southeast of the Fortore and by the Salento… -
Arabia
ARABIA. - The largest peninsula on earth (2.8-3 million sq. km.), comprising more than 1/4 of Europe. 1. GEOGRAPHY. - Arabia consists of a… -
Argentina
ARGENTINA. - Federal Republic of South America. SUMMARY: I. Geography. - II. History of Christianity. - III. History of relations between… -
Armenia
ARMENIA. - Historical region of western Asia, comprised between the Pontic-Transcaspian depressions to the N. (valley of the Kura) and the… -
Armenia, Soviet Republic of (ARMENA, REPUBBLICA SOVIETICA)
ARMENIA, SOVIET REPUBLIC OF. - The smallest (29,900 sq. km.) of the sixteen federated Republics constituting the U.S.S.R., among which it… -
Armenopoli
ARMENOPOLI. - An Armenian city in Transylvania, founded in 1700 by Armenians who had emigrated from Ani as early as the 13th century. The… -
Arnolfine, Lands (ARNOLFINE, TERRE)
ARNOLFINE, TERRE (Arnolfine Lands).- A group of castles in southern Umbria, between Terni, Spoleto, Amelia and Narni, whose administrative… -
Arpi
ARPI. - City, seat of an ancient bishopric, in Apulia (the Argyripa of Virgil, Aen., XI, 246) in the center of the plain south of the… -
Arzon
ARZON. - The present-day Chaldean diocese of Séert was formerly called A. The Nestorians also called it Mévadré ("the dispersed"), to… -
Arzughi (ARZUGI)
ARZUGHI. - A people who inhabited the region of Leptis Magna (Lebda), in Tripolitania. For a long time they resisted every influence of… -
Asia
ASIA. - One of the five largest continents of the earth. SUMMARY: I. Geography. - II. Ethnography and religions. - III. Asia in the Bible.… -
Asido
ASIDO. - Asidonia (today Medina-Sidonia, civil province and diocese of Cadiz, Spain), a diocese of the Visigothic and Mozarabic periods… -
Asmara
ASMARA. - Residence of the apostolic vicar of Eritrea (v. ERITREA, vicariato apostolico di) and of the ordinary for Catholics of the… -
Asolo
ASOLO. - A small municipality in the Veneto, in the hills of Treviso. It was an episcopal see at the end of the 6th century, when its… -
Aštišad
AŠTIŠAD. - Ancient city of Armenia, in the province of Duruperan, on the Arazani, a tributary of the Euphrates, very famous in pagan… -
Atella
ATELLA. - An ancient episcopal see in Campania, between Naples and Capua, whose ruins emerge in the territory comprised between the… -
Australasia
AUSTRALASIA. - With this term some geographers designate Indonesia or the Indian Archipelago (Dutch Indies); others, however, use it for… -
Australia
AUSTRALIA. - The smallest of the continents (about 3/4 the size of Europe), the farthest from Europe and the only one situated entirely in… -
Austria
AUSTRIA. - A state of central Europe, comprising almost the entire northern slope of the eastern Alps, from the Swiss border (Vorarlberg)… -
Avallon
AVALLON. - Capital of the department of the Yonne, 52 km. from Auxerre, on the right bank of the river Cousin. It is the ancient Aballo in… -
Aveia Vestina
AVEIA VESTINA. - Ancient city of Samnium, not far from Fossa. In the Roman Synod of 465 there appears a Gaudentius, bishop aviciensis, whom… -
Avranches
AVRANCHES. - Located between Brittany and Normandy, near the mouth of the river Sée, in the department of the Manche. In the Roman age… -
Azerbaijan (ASERBAIGIAN)
AZERBAIJAN. - The largest (85,500 sq. km.), but not the most populous, of the three federated Soviet Republics of the Transcaucasian… -
Babylonia of Egypt (BABILONIA D'EGITTO)
BABYLONIA OF EGYPT. - A city of ancient Lower Egypt, situated in the region from which the canal from the Nile to the Red Sea departed.… -
Babylonia of the Latins (BABILONIA DEI LATINI)
BABYLONIA OF THE LATINS. - B. is currently the title of the archbishop of the Latin see (Babilonensis Latinorum), immediately subject, who… -
Babylonia of the Syrians (BABILONIA DEI SIRI)
BABYLONIA OF THE SYRIANS. - In 1790 a Syro-Catholic archbishopric was erected at Baghdad with the title of B. and with jurisdiction over… -
Baccano (ad Baccanas, ad Vacanas)
BACCANO (Ad Baccanas, ad Vacanas). - Name of a post station at the twenty-first mile of the Via Cassia, where near the ascent called clivus… -
Bagnacavallo
BAGNACAVALLO. - A small town in the province of Ravenna; among its more notable religious monuments are to be counted the church of St.… -
Bahamas (Lucayas) (BAHAMA (BAHAMAS, LUCAIE))
BAHAMAS (LUCAYAS). - A coral archipelago stretching north of Cuba, from Florida to Haiti, made up of about thirty larger islands (Andros,… -
Baqavat (Al-)
BAQAVAT (Al-). - Modern name given to the necropolis of the city of Hibis (1842), metropolis of the Great Oasis. The first scholars who… -
Barga
BARGA. - In the province of Lucca, made famous by Pascoli, who is buried there. The principal monument is the Cathedral, Romanesque, built… -
Barletta
BARLETTA. - In the province of Bari, on the Adriatic Sea. I. THE DIOCESE. - Called Baretum by Strabo, Barulum by the Latins. In Roman times… -
Basen
BASEN. - Major district of the province of Ararat, in Armenia, divided into upper and lower B. It was one of the dioceses that received… -
Basra (BÀSSORA)
BASRA. - 'AŠŠĀR, VICARIATO PATRIARCALE di. - B. was an ancient Nestorian diocese, called Prath d'Misa, that is, Mesena. G. S. Assemani… -
Basti
BASTI. - Diocese of Roman, Visigothic and Mozarabic Spain, today Baza, in the civil province of Granada. The first known bishop,… -
Basutoland
BASUTOLAND. - A small (30,344 sq. km.) landlocked territory of southern Africa, enclosed between the Orange, Natal and the Cape Colony. It… -
Batrun of the Maronites (BATRUN DEI MARONITI)
BATRUN OF THE MARONITES. - Patriarchal diocese of Antioch of the Maronites. B. is the Arabic translation of Botri. It is the ancient… -
Bavaria (BAVIERA)
BAVARIA. - Historical region of southern Germany which, from the foot of the outer Prealps (Swiss, Bavarian and Salzburg), extends… -
Bāwīt (BÄWÎT)
BĀWĪT. - A locality in Middle Egypt near which were discovered the ruins of one of the most important monasteries of the early Middle Ages,… -
Bayeux
BAYEUX. - City on the river Aure, in the department of Calvados; it had various names in antiquity: Ptolemy calls it Arigenus Biducosiorum,… -
Bazzano
BAZZANO. - Two miles from L'Aquila in Abruzzo, on the Aterno river. It is the ancient Vicus Ofidius. Its parish church is dedicated to St.… -
Beacia
BEACIA. - B., to which the see of Castulum (now Baeza, province of Jaén, Spain) seems to have been transferred, appears for the first time… -
Beirut
BEIRUT. - The ancient Βερμώος or Berytus, Berito (v.). It is currently the capital of the Republic of Lebanon. The territory, which was… -
Belarus (White Russia) (BIELORUSSIA (RUSSIA BIANCA))
BELARUS (WHITE RUSSIA). - One of the 16 federated Republics constituting the U.S.S.R. Having proclaimed itself autonomous in 1918 and… -
Belcastro
BELCASTRO. - Former episcopal city of Calabria, on the south-eastern slopes of the Sila, between Catanzaro and S. Severina. The old… -
Belgian Congo (CONGO BELGA)
BELGIAN CONGO. - In ancient times the name C. was understood to include present-day French Equatorial Africa, the Portuguese possessions of… -
Belgium (BELGIO)
BELGIUM. - A state of northwestern Europe (30,508 sq. km.; slightly more than Piedmont), bordering on Holland, Germany, Luxembourg and… -
Bellary, Mission to the Turis (BELLARY, MISSIONE SUI TURIS DI)
BELLARY, MISSION OF THE TURIS. — It is a suffragan of Madras (India) and entrusted to the Friars Minor of the English province. Erected in… -
Bettona
BETTONA. - Ancient episcopal city of Umbria, in the province of Perugia. It is the Umbrian-Etruscan Vettona. A famous legend of Umbrian… -
Bevagna
BEVAGNA. - Ancient episcopal see of Umbria, in the province of Perugia, situated at the confluence of the Clitunno and the Topino. It is… -
Bhutan
BHUTAN. - Small Himalayan state, of 50,000 sq km, enclosed between Tibet, Sikkim and Assam; independent in name, in fact under British… -
Bieda
BIEDA. - Ancient episcopal city of Latium, in the province of Viterbo, rising on a tuff plateau at the confluence of the Biedano stream and… -
Binbirkilise (Bin Bir Kilise, "One Thousand and One Churches") (BINBIRKILISA (BIN BIR KILLSÂ, «MILLE E UNA CHIESA»))
BINBIRKILISE (Bin Bir Kilise, "One Thousand and One Churches"). - This is the name given to the ruins of an ancient Byzantine city in… -
Biseglie (BISCEGLIE)
BISEGLIE. - City in the province of Bari, with a small port on the Adriatic. In the Byzantine age, not before the 7th century, it was… -
Bisenzio
BISENZIO. - Ancient episcopal see of Latium on the western shore of Lake Bolsena. An inscription of 254 mentions the «Senatus populusque… -
Bisignano
BISIGNANO. - City in the province of Cosenza, the ancient Basidiae, which acquired particular importance in the Byzantine-Norman period,… -
Bistrica
BISTRICA. - A small town in northern Croatia with a great Marian sanctuary, whose origins go back to the year 1545, when the people,… -
Bistua
BISTUA. - At the Synods of Salona of 530 and 533, there also appears Andria, bishop of the bestoensis ecclesia. His diocese was vast but… -
Bitonto
BITONTO - Romanesque little loggia on the right side of the Cathedral (late 12th century-early 13th century). -
Blaj
BLAJ. - City of Transylvania (Romania). In 1733 Bishop Innocent Micu transferred there the residence of the new diocese of Făgăraș (v.).… -
Blanda, Julia (BLANDA JULIA)
BLANDA, JULIA. - Ancient city of Magna Graecia, on the Tyrrhenian border of Calabria with Lucania. It was a Roman oppidum, mentioned by… -
Bohemia (BOEMIA)
BOHEMIA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - Region of central Europe, corresponding to the upper basin of the Elbe (Labe, in Czech), that is to say a… -
Bolivia
BOLIVIA. - Republic of South America. I. GEOGRAPHY. - Bordered by Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile; among the Andean states, the… -
Bomarzo
BOMARZO. - Ancient episcopal see of Latium, on the edge of the plateau that extends toward the Cimini Mountains and not far from the Tiber.… -
Botrys (Botrus)
BOTRYS (Botrus). - Today Batrun, a city of Phoenicia, whose bishop Porphyrius subscribed to the Council of Chalcedon (448). Reorganized in… -
Bova
BOVA. - B. is a small town in the Aspromonte facing Cape Spartivento. Together with S. Lorenzo, Africo, Roccaforte, Condofuri and Roghudi,… -
Bra, Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Flowers of (BRA, SANTUARIO DELLA MADONNA DEI FIORI DI)
BRA, SANCTUARY OF THE MADONNA OF THE FLOWERS OF. - It owes its name to the characteristic fact of the annual flowering, in the depths of… -
Bratislava (Pressburg, Pozsony)
BRATISLAVA (PRESSBURG, POZSONY). - Capital of Slovakia, on the Danube, on the slopes of the Carpathians. It was a Roman camp; then in the… -
Brazil (BRASILE)
BRAZIL. - The Estados Unidos do Brasil, a federal republic of 20 states, 5 territories and 1 federal district, covers by itself a little… -
Brescello
BRESCELLO. - An ancient city of Transpadane Gaul, mentioned by Suetonius, Tacitus, Ptolemy, Plutarch and Pliny, now a small agricultural… -
British West Indies (INDIE OCCIDENTALI BRITANNICHE)
BRITISH WEST INDIES. - The name West Indies designates the archipelagos of Central America known as the Greater and Lesser Antilles. This… -
Brittany (BRETAGNA)
BRITTANY. - Historical region of France, corresponding to the peninsula of the same name (250 km long, at most 170 wide), which breaks away… -
Brugnato
BRUGNATO. - In Liguria, in the province of Genoa. A Benedictine monastery flourished there, whose foundation is attributed to the Lombard… -
Brussels (BRUXELLES)
BRUSSELS. - In Flemish Brussel, capital of Belgium, ecclesiastically it depends on the archdiocese of Malines (v.), which has founded in… -
Bucharest, Latin Archdiocese of (BUCAREST, ARCIVESCOVATO LATINO DI)
BUCHAREST, LATIN ARCHDIOCESE OF. - In Romanian București, capital of Romania (999,658 inhabitants in the 1941 census). It was the capital… -
Bulgaria
BULGARIA. - Balkan state situated between Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania and the Black Sea. SUMMARY: I. Geography. - II. Historical profile of… -
Burgenland, Apostolic Administration of (BURGENLAND, AMMINISTRAZIONE APOSTOLICA DI)
BURGENLAND, APOSTOLIC ADMINISTRATION OF. - Established on 18 May 1922 and comprising the parts of the Hungarian dioceses of Győr and… -
Burgundy (BORGOGNA)
BURGUNDY. - A historical region of France, whose name perpetuates the memory of the Burgundians (a Germanic population that moved into… -
Burma (BIRMANIA)
BURMA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - In English Burma; a region of southern Asia (northwestern Indochina) comprising almost the entire basin of the… -
Buxentum
BUXENTUM. It was a city situated on the Lucanian coast between the rivers Melfi and Lao. Some identify its position with that of… -
Caelenae
CAELENAE. - It is beyond doubt that a fairly ancient Christian church existed in the land of the Marsi. In the 6th century there is… -
Caen
CAEN. - Currently the capital of the department of Calvados (France). It is first mentioned in 1027 under the name Cadomum, but it was… -
Caiaphas (Arab. Haifā) (CAIFA (ARAB. HAJFĀ))
CAIAPHAS (Arab. Haifā). - City situated at the southern end of the bay of St. John of Acre, at the foot of Mount Carmel; capital of the… -
Calabria
CALABRIA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - In ancient times this name designated the Salentine Peninsula, and only after the 7th century did it designate… -
Callirhoe (CALLIROE)
CALLIRHOE. - A region of thermal springs east of the Dead Sea, a little south of the Zerqà Mà'in, called by the Arabs Hammàm ez-Zàrà. In a… -
Cameroon (CAMERUN)
CAMEROON. - Region of Equatorial Africa that extends from the bottom of the Gulf of Guinea to Chad, to the Logone and to the lower course… -
Campania
CAMPANIA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - A historical region of southern Italy, comprising the Tyrrhenian slope of the Apennines, from the Gulf of Gaeta… -
Canada (CANADÀ)
the cluster of grapes prefigured Christ, "ille botrus peregrinus, qui sicut uva de vite, ita ille in carne crucis pependit in ligno" (De… -
Canaries (CANARIE)
CANARIES. - Archipelago of 14 islands (of which 7 are major), of volcanic origin, located in the North Atlantic to the SW. of the Moroccan… -
Caorle
CAORLE. - It is the Venetian island situated at the mouth of the Livenza, a refuge of the bishops of Concordia during the Lombard invasion… -
Capodistria
CAPODISTRIA. - A small town a few km. from Trieste; in antiquity it was also designated by the name of Giustinopoli. According to some… -
Capri
CAPRI. - Island in the Gulf of Naples, with an area of 10.36 sq km, called Capreae by Virgil (Aen., VII, 735), Ovid (Met., XV, 709), Pliny… -
Caravaggio, Sanctuary of the Madonna of (CARAVAGGIO, SANTUARIO DELLA MADONNA DI)
CARAVAGGIO, SANCTUARY OF THE MADONNA OF. - The greatest Marian sanctuary in Lombardy, about 2 km. from C. (province of Bergamo), to which… -
Cardiff, Archdiocese of (CARDIFF, ARCIDIÓCESI DI)
CARDIFF, ARCHDIOCESE OF. - In southeast Wales (England). In the Middle Ages the dioceses of Llandaff and Hereford occupied almost the same… -
Carini
CARINI. - City in Sicily, 27 km. from Palermo; it seems that it was the C. to which Gregory the Great alludes as an episcopal see… -
Carmeia
CARMEIA. - The information available about the city and the diocese is scanty and uncertain. C. was a city of Apulia near the Gargano.… -
Caroline
CAROLINE. - Archipelago of numerous mostly coral islands, arranged in parallel series between the Philippines and the Marshalls over 30° of… -
Carthage, Archdiocese of (CARTAGINE, ARCIDIÓCESI DI)
CARTHAGE, ARCHDIOCESE OF. - I. HISTORY. - The origins of the Carthaginian Church, as indeed those of the African Church in general, are… -
Castellum Novas
CASTELLUM NOVAS. - This locality must have been situated along the Adriatic coast not far from Caorle; others, without solid foundation,… -
Castel Volturno
CASTEL VOLTURNO. - It is an ancient diocese of Campania, whose bishop Pascasius at the end of the 5th century is known; the ecclesia… -
Castiglia
CASTIGLIA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - A historical region of Spain, corresponding, in official usage, to the present provinces of Santander, Burgos,… -
Castiglione (Gabii)
CASTIGLIONE (GABII). - About twelve miles from Rome, on the Via Prenestina, near ancient Gabii, a Christian community flourished from the… -
Catalonia (CATALOGNA)
CATALONIA. - A historical Spanish region, corresponding to the present-day provinces of Lérida, Tarragona, Gerona and Barcelona, bounded by… -
Catanzaro
CATANZARO - Panorama. BIBL.: Thesaurus linguae latinae, s. v.; G. B. De Rossi, Inscr. christ. urbis Romae, II, Rome 1888, pp. 199-200,… -
Caudium
CAUDIUM. - In Samnium on the Appian Way between Capua and Benevento, known for the episode of the Caudine Forks. Only two bishops of C. are… -
Cefalonia
CEFALONIA. - City and capital of the island of the same name in the Ionian archipelago. From as early as the 4th century it was the seat of… -
Celesyria (Greek Kaílē Syría = "Hollow Syria") (CELESIRIA (ΚΑΊΛΗ ΣΥΡΊΑ = « SIRIA CAVA »))
CELESYRIA (Greek Kaílē Syría = "Hollow Syria"). - Name given by the Greeks, after the conquest of Alexander the Great, to the region… -
Centocelle
CENTOCELLE. - This episcopal see, which the documents attest from the 5th century, had an ephemeral existence. L. Duchesne is of the… -
Cernăuți (Chernivtsi) (CERNĂUTI (CZERNOWITZ))
CERNĂUȚI (CHERNIVTSI). - First mentioned in 1408, as a modest village situated on the Prut, in southern Galicia (Poland). When, in 1775,… -
Cerveteri (Caere)
CERVETERI (Caere). - In the suburbicarian Tuscia, crossed by a dense road network, numerous Christian communities flourished and had a… -
Ceylon
CEYLON. - The name C. means "island of the lions," from the warriors who accompanied, in the 6th century B.C., its Indian conqueror. It is… -
Chalcedon (CALCEDONIA)
CHALCEDON. - Today Kadıköy, founded by the Megarians in the 7th century B.C., it lies on the coast of Bithynia opposite Byzantium. In 74… -
Chapada
CHAPADA. - Nullius prelature of St. Anne, suffragan of Cuyabá in the State of Mato Grosso in Brazil. It was created on 13 July 1940 with… -
Chile (CILE)
CHILE. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - A state of South America consisting of the great western slope of the Andes, and therefore enclosed between these… -
China (CINA)
CHINA. - The Chinese state (Ta Chung Hwa Min Kuo, that is, "Great Republic of the Flower of the Middle," with reference to the traditional… -
Chios
CHIOS. - Island in the Aegean Sea, already famous in the 3rd century for the glorious death of the martyr St. Isidore. It has a Greek… -
Cilicia of the Armenians (CILICIA DEGLI ARMENI)
CILICIA OF THE ARMENIANS. - Catholic patriarchate since 26 Nov. 1742, when Benedict XIV confirmed Apraham Artzineam, a Catholic bishop,… -
Cirella
CIRELLA. - Corresponds to C. Vecchia, of which ruins exist on the Tyrrhenian coast, a little south of the mouth of the Lao. It was a city… -
Cissa
CISSA. - This small town in Istria, situated on an island a short distance from the present-day city of Rovigno, was the site of a… -
Cittanova Dell'estuario
CITTANOVA dell'ESTUARIO. - It is one of the smallest cities that arose, according to Venetian traditions, when the inhabitants of… -
Cittanova D'istria
CITTANOVA d'ISTRIA. - A locality on the Istrian shore that arose on the site of an ancient Emonia, on account of which from the Middle Ages… -
Civitanova Marche
CIVITANOVA MARCHE. - The earliest Christian records, like the episcopal see of ancient Cluentum, are not yet entirely clear. To this vicus,… -
Civitavecchia
CIVITAVECCHIA. - The Centumcellae of the Romans, where Trajan around the year 106 A.D. created an artificial port, garrisoned alternately… -
Colombia
COLOMBIA. - State of South America; the only one on the continent that faces both the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea. I. GEOGRAPHY. - It is… -
Colosse (Κολόσσι, Κολοσί, Lat. Colosse) (COLOSSE (ΚΟΛΌΣΟΣΙ, ΚΟΛΌΣΙ, LAT. COLOSSE))
COLOSSE (Κολόσσι, Κολοσί, Lat. Colosse). - A city of Greater Phrygia, on the left bank of the Lycus, 25 km from Laodicea. Built against the… -
Comana
COMANA. - An Armenian city of Asia Minor, in the province of Pontus. It was famous in paganism as a city under the theocratic government of… -
Compultery (Cubultery) (COMPULTERIA (CUBULTERIA))
COMPULTERY (Cubultery). - Ancient diocese of Campania between Treglia and Alvignano. It is mentioned only by St. Gregory the Great in the… -
Constantinople (COSTANTINOPOLI)
CONSTANTINOPLE. - Ancient Byzantium (Byzantion), built in 658 B.C. by a colony from Megara, whose leader was Byzas; almost entirely… -
Conza
CONZA. - It is the ancient Compsa, in the land of the Hirpini. Having passed from Roman to Gothic, Byzantine, and Lombard rule, in 1076 it… -
Copenhagen (COPENAGHEN (KØBENHAVN))
COPENHAGEN. - Etymologically "merchants' harbor," royal and governmental seat, capital city and seat of the Apostolic Vicar of Denmark… -
Coron
CORON. - Today Korōnē, a city in the Peloponnese, formerly the seat of a Greek bishopric, mentioned for the first time at the Council of… -
Corsica
CORSICA. - By area it is the fourth island of the Mediterranean, yet it extends over less than half the size of the two largest (8,722 sq… -
Costa Rica
COSTA RICA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - The smallest of the Central American republics, facing both oceans: 50,000 sq km (the relevant figures are… -
Côte d'Ivoire (Costa d'Avorio) (COSTA D'AVORIO (CÔTE D'IVOIRE))
CÔTE D'IVOIRE (IVORY COAST). - French colony of West Africa, bounded by Upper Volta and Sudan, by the Gold Coast, by French Guinea, by… -
Croatia (CROAZIA)
CROATIA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - A region of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, occupying approximately the same borders as the kingdom of the… -
Cuba
CUBA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - The "pearl" and the largest of the Antilles (115,000 sq. km. including the neighboring islands). Elongated and… -
Curtea de Argeș (CURTEA DE ARGES)
CURTEA DE ARGEȘ. - City in Romania, capital of the Arges district, formerly the capital of the principality of Wallachia. In the 14th… -
Czechoslovakia (CECOSLOVACCHIA)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - The Czechoslovak State was born in Oct. 1918 from the dismemberment of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and… -
Dalmatia (DALMAZIA)
DALMATIA. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - A historical region corresponding to the Adriatic coastal strip of the Balkan peninsula, from the Quarnero to… -
Damascus (DAMASCO)
DAMASCUS. - Chief city of Syria, since 1946 the capital of the independent Syrian Republic. It currently has 346,000 inhabitants. I.… -
Demsus
DEMSUS. - A village in Transylvania where there exists the oldest church, today Romanian Catholic, in Romania. Built with stones, altars… -
Denmark (DANIMARCA)
DENMARK. - A state of northern Europe, made up of a continental part, the peninsula of Jutland, joined to Germany, and an archipelago of… -
Die
DIE. - City and ancient diocese of France, today the capital of an arrondissement in the department of Drôme. A sanctuary of the goddess… -
Diocese of Saint John of Acre (Akkā, Ptolemais) (VESCOVATO DI SAN GIOVANNI D'ACRI ('AKKĀ, TOLEMAIDE))
DIOCESE OF SAINT JOHN OF ACRE (AKKĀ, PTOLEMAIS). - Episcopal see of the Melkites with residence at Haifa, suffragan of Tyre. It was an… -
Djemila (Arabic Gemilah) (DJEMILA (ARABO GEMILAH))
DJEMILA (Arabic Gemilah). - It is the ancient Cuicil, a city of Numidia near the border with Mauretania. In this locality, already… -
Dominican Republic (DOMINICANA, REPUBBLICA)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. - It occupies the eastern part (about 2/3) of Columbus's Hispaniola, today commonly called the island of Haiti. It… -
Drisdale River Mission (DRISDALE RIVER, MISSIONE DI)
DRISDALE RIVER MISSION. - It is an autonomous mission detached from the apostolic vicariate of Kimberley in Western Australia and erected… -
Dura-Europos (Gr. Δοῦρα Εὐρώπος) (DURA EÚROPOS (GR. ΔΟΥ͂ΡΑ ΕΥ̓́ΡΩΠΟΣ))
DURA-EUROPOS (Gr. Δοῦρα Εὐρώπος). - On the right bank of the Euphrates, halfway between Baghdad and Aleppo, on a rocky plateau, where the… -
Durostor (Silistra)
DUROSTOR (SILISTRA). - A city on the Bulgarian bank of the lower Danube, with the old name, perhaps Celtic, of Durostorm in Lower Moesia.… -
Durrës (Albanese Durazzo) (DURAZZO (ALBANESE DÜRRES))
DURRËS (Albanese Durazzo). - An ancient Illyrian city (Dyrrachi), with an attached Greek Corinthian-Corcyrean colony (Epidaunon), among the… -
Dwin
DWIN. - City also called "Ostan" by Armenian historians, because in the 3rd century Khosrow II transferred his court there. Within its… -
East Prussia (PRUSSIA ORIENTALE)
EAST PRUSSIA. - GEOGRAPHY. - In the German tradition (East Prussia passed to Germany in 1618), this name (Ost-Preussen) denoted the NE… -
Ecuador
ECUADOR. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - The smallest of the Andean states, so called because it is crossed by the Equator. Its area, after the long… -
Edessa ('Edessa) (EDESSA ("E-ΔΕΣΣΑ))
EDESSA ('Edessa). - Originally Orhai, whence the name Osroene for the region of which it was the capital, it was situated to the northwest… -
Egypt (EGITTO)
EGYPT. - E. (Misr according to the local Arabic name) comprises the Nile valley north of the second cataract (Wadi Halfa) with the adjacent… -
Elne
ELNE. - A city in France in the eastern Pyrenees, an episcopal see from the 6th century to 1601. It is the ancient "Illiberia," named from… -
El Salvador (SALVADOR, EL)
EL SALVADOR. - The smallest (34,126 sq km) of the Central American republics and the only one that faces only the Pacific. (Int. Alinari)… -
Embrun
EMBRUN. - Ancient diocese and archdiocese of France in the department of the Hautes-Alpes, on the right bank of the Durance. It is the… -
Emesa
EMESA. - City of Syria, later called Homs, birthplace of Alexander Severus and of Elagabalus. Christianity must have penetrated there from… -
Emilia
EMILIA. - I. GEOGRAPHY - A region of continental Italy, bounded by the Po, the Adriatic (122 km. of coast) and the Apennine ridge. In this… -
England (INGHILTERRA)
ENGLAND. - A region which, together with Scotland and Wales, constitutes the Island of Great Britain, and a toponym used in a generic sense… -
Ephesus ("Ephesos") (EFESO ("EPESOS"))
EPHESUS ("Ephesos"). - A city on the Ionian coast of Asia Minor, of Mycenaean origin as is attested by archaeological finds, situated… -
Epidauro
EPIDAURO. - A locality in Dalmatia known for the temple of Aesculapius (today Cavtat-Ragusavecchia). According to the Vita s. Hilarionis of… -
Eritrea
ERITREA. - Region of NE Africa that takes its name from the sea that bathes it (the Red Sea was called Erythraean in antiquity) and… -
Eriza
ERIZA. - Armenian city in the district of Ekeliatz, also called Giustinianopoli because it was fortified by the Emperor Justinian. It was… -
Erzurum (ERZERUM)
ERZURUM. - A city formerly called Karin and Theodosiopolis, after Theodosius II, who fortified it in defense of the eastern frontiers of…